WCU students produce walking trail brochure

Students in Western Carolina University’s Introduction to Public History course will show off the fruits of their labor during the Big Birthday Bash 4 to 7 p.m. Aug. 26 at the A.K. Hinds University Center Lawn, an event celebrating 125 years of history at WCU. The students produced a historic walking trail and map of WCU’s points of interest, bringing meaning to the longtime structures that students pass by every day.

“The class started the project by taking a tour of campus with George Frizzell from Special Collections,” said Jessie Swigger, who taught the class. “As a class, we selected what we thought were the most important historic sites on campus.”

The trail’s landmarks include: Highway 106, the first paved road in Cullowhee; Mount Zion AME Zion Church, a Methodist church established by 11 former slaves where Robertson Hall now stands; Moore Building, the oldest building still standing on campus; Madison Memorial, which honors WCU’s founder on the site of the original Cullowhee Academy; and many more.

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